Canada yesterday said it has approved a potential $856 million upgrade program for the LAV III family of vehicles, and General Dynamics [GD] Land Systems-Canada will be the prime contractor and systems integrator.
General Dynamics will work closely with the Department of National Defence (DND) in defining the scope of the LAV III upgrades, according to the announcement by Minister of National Defence Peter MacKay, with Lt. Gen. Andrew Leslie, chief of the Land Staff.
The upgrade program is part of a more than $4 billion Family of Land Combat Vehicle project that includes the acquisition of three new fleets of land combat vehicles including Close Combat Vehicles (CCV), Tactical Armoured Patrol Vehicles (TAPV), and Force Mobility Enhancement (FME) vehicles.
General Dynamics will be looking closely at requirements as they develop for the three new land combat fleets, GDLS-Canada spokesman Ken Yamashita told Defense Daily.
At the heart of the upgrade program is a high-capacity driveline and suspension that significantly increases the vehicle’s payload, providing more flexibility, he said.
The increased payload will allow the vehicle to deliver even better protection for Canadian soldiers. Other features of the upgrade package will be determined through discussions with DND.
Sridhar Sridharan, senior vice president of General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, said, “We are proud of the LAV III’s performance in theaters such as Afghanistan and have continually worked with DND in making the vehicle better. With this upgrade program, we can now incorporate the latest lessons learned in-theater and evolve the vehicle to a significantly higher standard of performance. We are grateful for this opportunity to keep the LAV III at the forefront and our soldiers safe.”
Once the scope of work is defined and a contract is issued, significant work will be performed at General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada facilities in London, Ont., and Edmonton, Alberta, as well as by the company’s nationwide network of more than 400 Canadian suppliers.